Mobile computing devices, such as smart phones, are fast becoming ubiquitous. Specifically, the number of users of smart phones is expected to reach several billion in the next few years. Other mobile computing devices are also gaining in popularity, such as tablet computing devices (sometimes referred to as slate computing devices), dedicated e-readers, mobile multimedia devices, mobile gaming devices, etc.
In an example, a smart phone is configured to perform multiple tasks. For instance, the smart phone can have numerous applications installed thereon, including but not limited to a web browser, a word processing application, a document reader application, a spreadsheet application, etc. Many special-purpose applications are made available for smart phones by way of an application repository that is accessible by way of a network connection.
Relatively recently, gaming applications that can be installed on mobile computing devices have become incredibly popular. Such gaming applications range from those with relatively simple two-dimensional graphics to computationally expensive gaming applications that involve relatively fast rendering of three-dimensional scenes. Currently, a user of a mobile computing device can access a repository of games through utilization of a mobile computing device, and can select a particular gaming application for download and installation on the mobile computing device. In an example, a gaming application in the repository may be available for purchase to users for a set fee. In another example, a gaming application can be supported by advertisements that are presented to a user during gameplay. Therefore, a user can download and install such gaming application at no charge, but is provided with certain advertisements when playing the game. In still another example, a gaming application can be available for free, but can be configured to generate revenue internally, for instance, through sale of virtual objects that can be used in gameplay.
While a number and type of applications (including gaming applications) available for download and installation on mobile computing devices has increased, collaboration between users of mobile computing devices with respect to an application is often difficult. For instance, if two users wish to participate in a multi-player game with one another, both users must have the gaming application installed on their respective mobile computing devices, and must typically coordinate through a remote server (which can cause difficulties with respect to gaming applications that require low latency).